The National Hockey League is in talks with two investors about taking a minority stake in the money-losing team, The Post has learned.

The deal under discussion with ex-Tampa Bay Lightning owner Oren Koules and former pro hockey player Brian Lawton would allow the pair to take eventual ownership of the cash-strapped franchise if they cover losses beyond a certain point, according to sources.

My favorite part of this is the “guardian angel”. These guys in NY really DON"T know hockey at all, do they? Because nobody in their right mind should be able to hear those two names together and do anything but cringe, wince, and scream “UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!”.

The NHL is probably the worst league when it comes to scrutinizing potential owners. They flirted with Boots Del Baggio for a long time, Craig Leopold bailed on Nashville and then ended up with Minnesota (and is part of Bettman’s inner circle no less) and now these jokers that ran Tampa Bay into the ground will be allowed back.

Probably bears pointing out that Barry, not Koules or Lawton, was primarily responsible for the clown show in Tampa. Once Barry was blocked from the decision-making process by Bettman, the embarrassing signings and trades stopped. And even before that, Koules used his vote to veto a deal Barry had cut with the Rangers to send Stamkos there for someone ridiculous that I don’t recall (it was like Drury and Prucha or something). Barry, for his part, once used a veto to stop a Lawton trade that would have seen Subban, Pacioretty, Gorges and a first flipped for the Lecavalier albatross contract.

That said Koules did make one moronic decision to hire Barry Melrose out of the broadcast booth.

While the NHL’s busting YouTube users for uploading NHL content in their vids, their miraculously dumb cabal of “due diligence” lawyers still can’t figure out who has skeletons in their financial backgrounds. Dumbest commish ever.

Posted by
SYF
from the C7.R, flyin' low and feelin' mean on 06/18/13 at 01:33 PM ET